Gluten Free Friday: White Chocolate Pudding with Toffee

Alright, so I have been a bit late in a lot of these gluten free posts. But better late than never. I got ambitious over thanksgiving and I wanted to make my own home made pudding I found this recipe in the

The recipe is as follows:
Pudding:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3/4 whipping cream
7 squares white chocolate- chopped
2 tsp vanilla

I combined the sugar, cornstarch, salt in a pan and mixed well. I then slowly whisked in the milk and cream and brought it to a boil and then reduced to medium heat. I did not walk away because very quickly it can get lumpy. Once you get lumpy it is over. I removed from heat and added chocolate and vanilla until everything melted. Transfer into dishes, cover, and refrigerate.

Toffee
1/2 c sugar
1/4 karo syrup
1 c sliced almonds
2 tsp butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Microwave 4 minutes mixed sugar and corn syrup add almonds and butter Microwave again for 2 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla and then spread on foil that is coated with nonstick cooking spray. Let cool and then break up into smaller pieces. Add to pudding

Everything was super yummy. Just have to watch the pudding I got a few lumps. It was difficult to not walk away

Cheers,
Lauren

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I miss gnocchi and though I would try this option.

Again, the recipe is from the gluten free bible.

So you can see the recipe in the picture, the rest of the ingredients are
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese

1. Cut up squash and put in microwave bowl- this took forever. next time i'll roast in the oven. It was painfully long. Cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave for 7 minutes or until tender. Let stand for 10 minutes, drain.
2. Press squash through ricer into bowl. Add 1 c rice flour, 2 tsp salt, xantham gum, & pepper. Mix.
3. Dust the heck out of cutting board. And keep it handy b/c you will need it badly.
4. Cut into smaller pieces and work in batches. Roll into rope and cut to 3/4 inch pieces. Your hands will be very dirty and hence why no pictures.
5. Boil up some salted water.  Drop gnocchi into water and cook for 2.5 minutes or until they float. Remove with spoon.
6. In skillet, add everything else beginning first with butter. Add gnocchi, toss to coat and cook for about 2 minutes,
7. Top with Parmesan. Serve

This is awesome but I didn't care for the lemon butter. I won't do it again. The next day I added a tomato basil sauce and I thought it complemented the squash better.
OMG delicious and better than potato!!!! Definitely recommend!

Cheers,
Lauren

Sauteed Shishito Peppers

In my garden I am growing shishito peppers, whcih are Japanese pappers which translate to lion peppers. Because how they grow, they look like little lion manes while they are growing. They are not big peppers, 3-4 inches long. I had to figure out what to do with them. They are thin walled peppers. After some searching, it seems as if the overwhelming recipe I found was to sautee them up.

So we threw some olive oil in a pan, medium heat, poke holes in them b.c as they heat they will pop and spray hot oil, then cook for a few minutes each side. If you cook a little longer then a quick on and off you will bring out the sweetness and reduce the heat/spiciness. Toss in sea salt. Done. Grab the stem and eat!

OMG they are great. It is a staple for our gameday cooking. They are addictive. Just like someone said online. They were not joking. Fact: 1 out of 10 shishitos are spicy. It is random. Have some milk nearby if you grab that one.

We love them so much that next year our garden will have more of these peppers. Like as many of these babies we can grow we will have an entire garden of them. You can't buy them anywhere. If you can I highly recommend!!!

Cheers,
Lauren

Sweet and spicy ham glaze, GF

From the book, I got this glaze recipe for a ham.

We had purchased a large ham on sale and decided we would attempt to cook it. Neither of us have cooked ham before. The boyfriend attempted to inject it with liquid smoke,Then dry rubbed some seasoning on it. What? Don't know, he just went nuts with the spices, like usual. But after that we made the glaze.  It is from the cookbook- The Gluten Free Bible

3/4 c brown sugar packed good
1/3 c cider vinegar (I used apple)
1/4 c golden raisins
1 can sliced peaches in heavy syrup,  drained and cut up !! save the syrup!!
1 tbs cornstarch
1/4 c OJ
1 can crushed pineapple (don't drain)
1 tbs grated orange peel
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (I used dried ginger)

1. Combine brown sugar, vinegar, raisins, and peach syrup in pan. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low, simmer 8-10 mins,
2. Whisk cornstarch in OJ until smooth. Add to sauce pan with your stuff from #1
3. Add pineapple, orange peel, garlic, red pepper flakes, & ginger into pan. Bring back to boil on medium heat. It will thicken. Stir constantly.

After the ham was baked for a good portion of time (like 30 minutes prior to being done based on weight) add 1/2 of glaze. Back into the oven, 30 minutes, remove and add rest of glaze.

OMG this glaze was yummy and addictingly delicious. It was also spicy but I like spicy! I definitely recommend but not for the weak! Will definitely make again!

Cheers,
Lauren

Another pancake mix try

This one was for the win!! Cherrybrook Kitchen and it was on sale at target. Can't beat a sale. :)

Now this is both a waffle and a pancake mix. Easy to mix and easy to bake. How beautiful is this pancake??

Now for taste- it was yummy. I felt redeemed that I could make pancakes. Ahhh thank you. Thank you pancake mix. I will say that the batter is a bit sweet but realizing it is also for waffles that makes sense. This is not something you want to eat a lot of if you are not into a sweet tooth. Also, I am guessing that this is not something healthy with all the sugars, though one can argue that most gluten free mixes are not really healthy. I consider this more of a treat than a regular basis for consuming. But still pretty good! BTW they freeze OK, I would recommend letting them thaw fully before reheating. Don't put them directly into the microwave. It reheats from frozen a little bit odd. Hope you enjoyed this review as I enjoyed these pancakes!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF pancake try and FAIL

Thought I would try another GF pancake mix.

Good old Bob's Red Mill. I tried this out and I will say this..... I have been making pancakes since I could hold a spoon with my mom. I could not get the pancakes to cook right. I mean just a mess. I was baffled. This has never happened to me before.

Never again, don't buy. Stay tuned for tomorrow for a redemption.

Cheers,
Lauren

Bob's GF Pizza Crust Try

I am always looking for a good pizza crust that is gluten free. Here we go with Bob's Red Mill!

It comes with a bag of yeast you have to prep some prior to making the dough. Then add the remaining ingredients. Then you let it sit and rise some. Now came the hard part- rolling it out. This is probably the ugliest crust I ever made. It had a lot of air pockets. I cooked it and then added ingredients.

Hey it actually looked like a pizza! And the crust was thick! OMG I have not had something like this in a long time! Now for the taste. I will say this it was a bit bland. I felt it needed some more seasoning to it. Or maybe it was my sauce. Hard to say. Even the boyfriend agreed it was pretty good like a regular pizza. It was definitely something we could use as a base.

I would definitely recommend!

Cheers,
Lauren

Tropical breeze smoothie

On a smoothie kick. Found this recipe in the Deliciously G-Free book. It is called tropical breeze smoothie.

Pretty simple: coconut water, flax seed meal, bananas, lime juice, lime zest, pineapple. Blend.

Absolutely delicious! And that takes care of a recipe from this book! 

yeah it made a lot and I was full!
Cheers,
Lauren

Gluten Free: Bread crumbs and fried chicken try

I miss fried chicken. I do. Chicken nuggets too. I found this at the store by Namaste and thought I would give it a try.

I followed the instructions, used an egg and some chicken breasts I had on hand. I got sassy and decided to add italian seasoning to my second batch. Fried those puppies up. Done!

The chicken on the left is with the bread crumbs and the right is with my added italian seasoning. 

Now they looked great coming out of the frying pan and tasted good right then and there. HOWEVER ONCE THEY WERE COOLED THERE WAS A WEIRD TASTE. No joke. There was this sort of chemical taste to them and it was in both so it wasn't the seasoning. It was just the bread crumbs themselves. I couldn't place it but it was off. Even my boyfriend agreed and he actually came to the same conclusion independent of myself. Something is not right. 

I do not recommend, and will not buy again. Sorry gluten free fried chicken, that is still going to have to wait some... Sigh. Oh well, can't eat them all!

Cheers,

Lauren

Gluten free vanilla cupcakes

Found this at Target which surprised me, Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake mix. Thought I would try it out for the boyfriend's bday! Pretty easy to follow...

Yeah my cupcakes were overfilled. Which surprised me b/c gluten free baking doesn't tend to expand much. The taste was really yummy! I added vanilla icing and done!

I also dipped strawberries in chocolate and I mixed up the topping for the cupcakes. Nom Nom. 

Would definitely recommend and do again. They were tasty and were not hockey pucks. :) Yeah!

Cheers,
Lauren

Lettuce wrap GF "sandwich"

I have been messing around with some lettuce wraps. Today I just actually tried something different. I tried cabbage. I am trying out new options for gluten free "sandwich-like options". Today I am actually trying out cabbage with ground beef! So I simply cooked some ground beef.

Then cleaned up some cabbage. Added my ground beef (sans grease, but with seasoning.) with some cheese. Attempted to wrap it up. And lo and behold I have a sandwich! Actually pretty easy. I actually liked the way cabbage tasted. Plus it was super big!

Not bad, I would do again!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF Quinoa chicken vegetable soup

I was just messing around one cold Saturday and decided I would try my take on a chicken noodle soup. Some of the noodles I can eat, others I can't. I really miss a good soup on these cold days. I love hearty soups too.

So winged it. Grabbed 2 bags of frozen vegetables- the soup medley. Which have onions, celery, etc. Grabbed 2 boxes of the low sodium chicken broth. I threw in a cup of quinoa. Cook on high/ med heat to get them to start cooking. I also threw in some fresh ground pepper.

At the very end, I added fresh avocado to the mix, all nicely cut up. I had also cooked a chicken in the oven so I threw the chicken in there. OMG it was delicious!

The quinoa definitely plumped up and at the end it was almost like a stew. I did't care b/c it was so filling and tasty! Boyfriend also ate it up! We made it again (b/c again it is just so cold) and it was gone pretty fast. Super easy as it only took about 35 minutes total cook time! Yeah! And made a lot!! Not bad for making it up!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF cooking: southwest spaghetti squash

This is a fabulous recipe! We love it! Southwest spaghetti squash casserole.

It is from this book....

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 can (~14 ounces) tomatoes- I used Rotel tomatoes with peppers, and I drained them-- recipe didn't call for that. I opted for Rotel since it does have a nice kick to it. You may not want this.
1 can ~14 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic salt (I didn't have and just used garlic powder)
1/4 black pepper

Directions:
1. Cook squash at 350 degree on a cookie sheet. Cut them in half and put face down on the cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove. Let cool for a bit.
2. shred squash with fork into a bowl.
3. Add all ingredients saving 1/4 cup of the cheese for the topping. Mix together well. Transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve!

We had just a little bit of liquid on the bottom. I don't think I got all the juice out from the tomatoes.

Nom. OMG this was fabulous on the cold winter days. Helps clear you up! And keep you warm!

My boyfriend went bananas over this dish. Which at first he was like, er well I guess I will try it. Then after he did, it was inhaled. I have made this again and it was still delicious! We definitely have a winner here. I highly recommend!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF cooking: meatloaf cupcake

Another recipe down the hatch. Different gluten book- the Gluten Free Bible.

I wanted to try their meatloaf cupcakes. They looked so great! It is a meaty bottom and the icing on the "cupcake" is mashed potatoes. 

Ingredients:

1.5 ground beef 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 rice chex

1 egg

2 tbp rosemary

1. I combined everything in a bowl. 

2. Trasnferred to cupcake holders and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Ensuring they are properly cooked.

3. Err this is what they looked like super greasy and it disformed the liners. They were soaking wet.

4. OMG just full of fat!!!

This recipe should have called  extra lean beef. I used 80/20 and it was too much fat. I just used instant mashed potatoes to make my icing. I sprinkled it with cheddar cheese. The taste was nice, but a bit bland for me. My boyfriend did like that it was different. I liked the concept. I may do this again but change the seasoning. 

As use less fat!!! But nice for a quick bite to eat. Yup he could pop an entire one in his mouth. Meat and potatoes. Every man's dreams. LOL

Cheers,
Lauren

GF cooking- Cinnamon apple risotto

Trying to use my cookbooks and cook some different food! This is one of my cookbooks.

Today is all about the cinnamon apple risotto. It supposed to be for breakfast. It looked to die for!

 Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

4 apples (I used granny smith)- nicely sliced up

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice ( I didn't have ground up so I had to ground my own in my food processor- see #2)

1/4 tsp salt

1.5 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup brown sugar 

4 cups of apple juice

1 tsp vanilla

1. diced up my apples- this took the LONGEST!

2. Had to also grind up my all spice

3. combine apples with butter, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a pan. On Medium/High heat cook and stir to get the apples to start releasing juices. Takes about 3 to 5 minutes. Your house will smell amazing at this point.

4. In your slow cooker, coat with oil spray. Add rice and apple mix- mix it up all together. Then add apple juice, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix up and simply let it cook for 2 hours on high!

Done!! I added some sliced almonds and dried cherries to the bowl. And I had this wonderful dish to nosh on.

It was delightful. Warm. Delicious! Filling. This would be great if you had a lot of people (since it makes a lot) to feed for breakfast or brunch. Actually, I paired it with some bacon wrapped beef fillets for dinner that night. It was a really nice compliment to the beef. Will definitely do again when I have a lot of company!

Cheers,
Lauren

Gluten Free Review: Pancake Mix- FAIL

We tried this mix on Christmas. We decided to splurge and make some pancakes. So we tried this mix I think I got from my mom. I can't remember. It was just in our pantry.

Easy to make, cook, they LOOKED decent

However, they literally fall apart in our mouths. It was impossible to pick it up with a fork. The taste wasn't all that awesome. It was super light hence why it just fell apart. I didn't even finish mine, neither did my boyfriend. We threw away the rest of the box mix. Not worth it, Don't recommend.

Hopefully there will be better food reviews in 2014!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF Pizza Dough Review-Domata

Yay gluten free friday review! New pizza crust trial from domata. So the hardest thing with gluten free pizza crust is things don't rise. They are pretty flat. Pretty plain.

So I made my dough. It was super sticky but nice. I used gluten free flour mix to dust my rolling pin and surface. If I did not. There was not enough to make 2 pizza crusts and dust everything enough. Which was sort of a shame, there should be enough to handle the dusting. Realistically. 

Rolled out to a circle. Brush with oil. 

Add toppings (and make a mess everywhere)

Cook!

Note to self:.... should have sprayed the cookie sheet with oil. We got really stuck.

The taste was good. It did rise some. Would I do it again? Probably, this is just hard to find. But it was like a "normal" pizza. I would love to play around with seasoning the crust.

Cheers,
Lauren

Spicy Chicken Quinoa recipe

Here is my easy spicy chicken quinoa recipe. This is my "I got home late, we have no leftovers, I am exhausted, and want something decent and healthy" sort of dinner. We have tweaked this recipe and it has a nice, mature heat.

Ingredients: Yes we are going to use canned food. Don't hold it against me, from start to finish is less than 20 minutes for this meal!
- Can of rotel tomatoes- we are using mild
- quinoa, pre-washed- I do mine in big batches and store in an air tight sealed container
- chicken broth, I prefer reduced sodium
- can of chicken, I am using reduced sodium and organic chicken
- McCormick season in Monterrey Chicken
- salt and pepper

First grab 1 cup of quinoa, add a dash of oil. I just used olive oil. Place in saucepan

Now we need 2 cups of liquid to cook the quinoa properly. Adding water makes quinoa just bland. I decided the best way to give the flavor is to use the liquid from the rotel can. I can get about 1/2 to 2/3 cup from the can. Fill the remaining 2 cups with chicken broth.

Add to quinoa in pan.

give it a nice stir. Now add some pepper and cover with the Monterray Chicken seasoning. I rarely add salt b/c I just don't feel it needs it. I don't measure the seasoning I just sort of sprinkle to give a decent cover but not too much. Probably about 1 to 1.5 tsp. Depends really. You may want to adjust this yourself

Pour the chicken (rinsed to remove the excess salt and can water) and the rotel into a separate pan with a dash of oil. Turn on and cook. I usually cook on low medium so it is ready when my quinoa is ready.

Turn on high until it begins to boil, then turn the heat down to let it simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

you will begin to see the quinoa to absorb the water, you will also see quinoa sort of pop open.

There is still some liquid remaining, make sure towards the end you give it a good stir to prevent burning and sticking to the pan.

Also it helps to "fluff" the quinoa.

Add your tomatoes and chicken to the finished quinoa. Mix up well!

Done! This is a great dish that is high in protein and perfect for the cold days. Mature heat

Now you have my secret recipe. Everyone who has tried it loves it. They have no idea it comes from cans and is done in less than 20 minutes! I guess that is for the win! :)

Cheers,
Lauren